College Insider lawsuit against University of Northern Colorado dropped, but civil litigation still a possibility

The open records dispute between College Insider and University of Northern Colorado has been dropped according to a document filed in Weld District Court.

However, an attorney representing College Insider said a civil suit in the matter is still a possibility.

“The case was dismissed without prejudice because we cannot pursue it any longer,” Anastasia Fainberg, a Greenwood Village-based attorney representing College Insider said in a phone interview on Thursday.

“However, this is not the end of this matter for College Insider,” Fainberg added. “We will continue to gather evidence in regards to the interference to the 2018 (College Insider) tournament.”

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The lawsuit, filed in February, alleged that David Sabolcik, senior athletic director at UNC, colluded by phone and text messages with the athletic directors of other schools competing in the College Insider 2018 postseason tournament, and asked them to guarantee lower rates than the ones set by College Insider.

Rates refer to profit sharing agreements between College Insider and the universities from revenue streams, such as ticket sales.

The suit stemmed from a Colorado Open Records Act request College Insider submitted to UNC asking for copies of Sabolcik’s text messages and emails from Jan. 1, 2018, through May 31, 2018. UNC produced the emails, but did not turn over text messages.

Originally, UNC spokesman Nate Haas said in an email to the Tribune, “While it would be inappropriate to respond to pending litigation, text messages from personal devices of employees are not public records. We are confident that we have compiled with our legal responsibilities.”

On Wednesday, Haas confirmed that the lawsuit had been dropped, and he was confident the university did not commit any violations.

Fainberg originally argued that Sabolcik’s text messages were key in determining whether or not he discussed College Insider Tournament rates with other athletic directors.

On Thursday, Fainberg conceded “we didn’t get anywhere with the CORA request.”

In 2018, UNC played host to three College Insider games — drawing 1,074 against Drake University, 2.019 for a game against Sam Houston State University and a Bank of Colorado record-crowd of 3,198 in the championship game against the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Haas said UNC paid $10,000 to host the semifinal round and $38,000 to host the championship game. He said the costs were covered by sponsorships, ticket sales and donations and that no state funds were used.

“Most likely, a civil suit (would be filed) if they gather enough evidence,” Fainberg said. “They’re not giving up by any means … that’s their current position.”